Sunday, February 21, 2010

Challah with millet

ב''ה

I am going to have to get rid of all my different flours before Passover. Some of the millet spilled and I figured I would throw it into the weekly challah. I usually would let the millet soak for a whole day before using but it was thursday night already and the hour was getting late... I had to just give it a short soak.

I have been experimenting with autolyse. Lately I have been giving my challah at least an hour autolyse before retarding the dough in the fridge overnight. I use a rather wet challah dough, even though it is not the usual thing to do with challah (since you want a nice tight crumb.) This time I was so tired I could not even bring myself to knead the dough and just stuck it in the fridge in it's unmixed state. The next morning, before going to work I kneaded it and stuck it back in the fridge until I came home (3pm.)

With a combination of half soaked millet and un-mixed retardation I was truly prepared for a crunchy, tasteless challah.

What a surprise when I bit into it and it was nutty and sweet and not really crunchy, just a nice texture. A real treat. I wonder if it was the abnormal autolyse. This thursday maybe amaranth! :)

Well, you can technically keep it if you know that no water has touched it at all. However, if any water touched the flour at all leavening has probably occurred on some level.

I do sell my "leavening" before the holiday but I like to try and make sure that only includes my pots and pans etc. and not any real leavening. I like to actually get rid any real leavening so as to fulfill the biblical verse "all leavening you shall not find in your houses." –Exodus - 12:19שמות יב יט: "שבעת ימים שאור לא יימצא בבתיכם ...

Actually the Rabbi not have deal with all that. We seal off in a closet (or two...) all the stuff we are selling and sign it off to the Rabbi in a contract. The Rabbi then deals with the sale with out having to involve you, the laws of which are quite complex.

As far as I know chemical leavening is allowed. It's only yeast leavening that's a problem. Also, only with five grains: wheat, barley, spelt and oats. Corn and legumes are also out since their fields are planted next to the 5 grains. That is, unless your family has spanish origins ("sephardic"), then its allowed, except for Moroccans for some reason...